About Virtlab

Virtlab Demonstration

Below is an introduction to Virtlab simulations and exercises.
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Click the "Models" tab for examples of student buildable simulations.
Click here for additional exercises!

Acid Base Titration

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Instructions

(The "Print" button will print the the contents of the left-scrollable region of this window.
This is useful if you have a small screen with no room for both your work area and these instructions.
You will still need this window nearby to click on links and to view the contents of the right-scrollable region.)

LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS
(Items 1 - 2)

The window on your left with the title bar "Acid Base Titration" contains a device that simulates the titration of a weak acid such as acetic acid. You don't need to know about the titration of weak acids yet, just follow the steps to see how Virtlab works.

The window can be moved by clicking and dragging on it's title bar and resized by clicking and dragging on the small box in its lower-right corner. Windows can overlap. Clicking on the title bar brings a window to the front. (Unlike windows in your desktop applications, only the title bar can be used to bring a window to the front!)

The beaker with the rotating stirring rod contains a weak acid. In the "Initialize"
panel the textbox adjacent to the label pK specifies a value of 4.75. The pK of acetic acid is 4.75. You can change this parameter and click "Reset" when you wish to experiment with other weak acids.[1] (You can also change the starting concentrations of acetic acid, [HA]init, and acetate, [A]init, in the beaker, but we won't do that in this introductory exercise).

Positioned above the flask is a burette that contains a strong base such as NaOH. Click on the button "?" and notice that a small yellow arrow now points to the red stopcock at the base of the burette. This stopcock is the only hotspot in this simulation. Clicking on the red stopcock delivers a continuous stream of concentrated NaOH to the beaker beneath.

Try it!

Did you see the readout of the pH meter change as NaOH was added to the beaker? Did you see that the concentrations of acetic acid [HA] and acetate [A] change in
the "Calculate" panel?

Click on the burette's stopcock briefly and then record the Base Added and pH on
a pad of paper. Continue adding known amounts of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and recording
Base Added vs. pH. If you have graph paper available, plot Base Added (x-axis) vs
pH (y-axis). Table 1
displays the results we obtained and Figure 1 displays our plot.
(Click on the "Table 1" and "Figure 1" hyperlinks to see these results on the right.)

2. There is a hyperlink "Laboratory Notebook" near the top right of your screen.
If you have Excel or an Excel compatible electronic spreadsheet program on your computer you should be able to click on this hyperlink and retrieve the laboratory notebook for this exercise. Although you do not need to use this notebook, we sometimes add automatic graphics (e.g., Figure 1 above) and other supporting features that will make it easier for you to record your results.

If you are running on a PC, the notebook may open in Internet Explorer. If you are running on a Mac, the file will download to a default directory on your computer. Depending on your computer's security settings, you may or may not receive a warning about this file. On a PC, clicking "Open" in the warning dialog box will open the notebook in Internet Explorer in a new window.[2] On a Mac, you will need to find the file and open it.

If your computer supports Excel or a data compatible counterpart, click on "Download Notebook" now. Unlike the windows in Virtlab itself, the notebook is in a separate
window and can be hidden by the Virtlab browser
window. Transfer your data to this
notebook and observe that a plot of Base Added vs pH is automatically generated.

3. It would be nice if your computer screen is big enough to permit Virtlab instructions,
laboratory, and notebook to be
visible on the screen at the same time. Alas, most
students find such crowded screens confusing and difficult to use. You will probably
choose to write Virtlab results on a pad of paper and then transfer to your Laboratory
Notebook. The choice is up to you.

4. If you would really like to enter data into the Laboratory Notebook directly
you can print out these instructions so that only the laboratory and Laboratory
Notebook need be on the screen at the same time. Simply resize your browser window
so that only the laboratory is visible. There is a hyperlink in the very first line of these instructions
entitled "To print, click here to download as an RTF File". RTF files can be opened
by most word processing programs and you can then print these instructions.

Congratulations, you have completed a virtual experiment in a virtual laboratory!

Although the laboratories may become more complex and science more sophisticated, you now know how to use the "Laboratories" section of Virtlab. Let's move on to "Models".

For further work, click on the "Models" tab or register on the site for simulations involving stoichiometry,
ideal gas law, solutions, acid-base equilibria, and more.

TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS EXERCISE, YOU SHOULD ALREADY KNOW

The definition of the terms:

chemistry

computer

How to connect to the internet and use simple browser functions.

FIGURES & FOOTNOTES

Table 1

pK = 4.75

Base Added

pH

0.001

2.75

0.01

3.80

0.02

4.15

0.04

4.57

0.06

4.93

0.08

5.35

0.09

5.7

0.095

6.03

0.098

6.44

0.099

6.75

pH vs Base Added for Acetic Acid

Figure 1
pH vs Base Added for Acetic Acid

1. This particular simulation only supports weak acids with a single donatable proton. You will explore weak acids with more than one donatable proton when you reach the appropriate chapter in Virtlab.

2. Even if you open the spreadsheet in Internet Explorer you will still be able to save the notebook to your local hard drive, if you wish.

A new exercise Simple and Fractional Distillation now exists.
Other recent simulations include explorations of stoichiometry (moles, mole fractions, limiting reagents),
the Ideal Gas Law and the Equation of State,
Charles Law, Boyles Law, Raoults Law, and acidic dissociation (including isoelectric points).
Stoichiometry is an important subject and Charle's law, Boyle's Law, together with Raoult's Law and
acid base titrations are important matters. Daltons Law of Partial Pressures, sometimes called Dalton's Law
of partial pressures play crucial roles can help in understanding fractional distillation. dalton's law of partial
pressures (daltons law of partial pressures) should be understood by all students. Along with fractional distillation.
Will you be ready for acid base titration or acid base titrations. We hope so.
And don't forget or stoichiometry exercises.